Nigerian Spess questions....

[Treenbean]

How believable is vs1 clean, Nigerian spessartite? Bright orange really nice color but are they lying about origin? Is it only the Tanzanian material that has sugar?

 

[ForteKitty]

How big is the gem in question? My 6.8mm Barry Bridgestock Nigerian spess is eye clean, and a very pretty orange, too.

 

[chrono]

You should be able to get a clean Nigerian spessartite quite easily (AJS has tons of them). I believe that only the Tanzanian material has the sugar inclusions.

 

[minousbijoux]

I thought it was Namibian stones that had the sugar, which is why they glow? Can you tell me what kind of inclusions Namibian stones have?

 

[chrono]

Namibian spessartites have "silk" inclusions which are actually small colorless fibers of tirodite.

 

[minousbijoux]

Thanks, chrono!

 

[m76steve]

several years ago jtv used to sell spessartite-nig/nib-all their material was very clean-from what iv heard recently the clean orangie material is getting hard to come by-more reddish/brown & included-steve...attached is a pic of nigerian spessartite in pendent...

 

[Treenbean]

Is one type particularly better than the other or is it a case of "what's the color like?" color color color! It's funny when you SCUBA dive they mash into your head fit fit fit, because if your equipment doesn't fit everything goes wrong. With stones it's color color color I hear Loliondo a lot referring to Tanzania, is it like having a mahenge spinel? I mean you can get really nice spinels that aren't mahenge but if you attach the title the price goes up and hopefully the quality.

 

[ForteKitty]

I have a namibian (from mastercut gems), 3 loliondos (from gemline), and a nigerian (from acstones). Pics of the namibian and nigerian were posted a while back... namibian definitely blew the nigerian away. it kept its rich color in every lighting. The nigerian is very pretty, but it does turn very slightly brown in low light settings.. and when it's being compared to the namibian. I just received the loliondos this week, and they're like little rays of sunshine. very sparkly, small yellow flashes, but definitely orange! They all have different personalities, and i love them all... soo addictive!

 

[colorluvr]

This chart is from the Gemval website, which is a subscription website that gives estimated values of stones based on color, clarity, shape and quality of cut. This is what they put for difference in value of a spess based only on color with all things being equal.

Valuation date: 24 Nov 2010
Value chart for Spessartite. Data valid till: 08 Dec 2010
Values in USD per carat; ref. clarity = VVS, ref. cut = Excellent

These are prices per carat based on the carat weight. I know the values are hard to read, but you can tell how they rank the colors based on the chart, so medium orangey red (third from the bottom), is the most valuable according to this site; with Medium Reddish Orange (second from the bottom) being just slightly less, followed by medium orangey yellow (bottom of chart). This is how they get the info:

"Each appraisal is based on a complex statistical analysis of current web selling prices for colored gems. The database also takes into account the factors influencing a gem's price such as weight, color, clarity, cut, shape etc. Our specialists collect statistical market data by examining hundreds of lots from different online gem sellers every day. Please be aware that the pricing model parameters (price coefficients) are updated monthly, so any estimated value will vary slightly over time.

How we collect data

We add new online shops to our tracking list every month so our list of online gemstone resources is continuously growing. We thoroughly check and categorize each online resource before we assign it to our dependency index. We make sure that only "market-balanced" offers are entered into the database. All specimens with highly irregular prices are rejected and have no impact upon statistical coefficients."

I know this is not the definitive word on value, and I have seen other websites that disagree, but I found it interesting.

 

[colorluvr]

They all have different personalities, and i love them all... soo addictive!

I totally agree, I have several of different colors and I love them all, also - they truly do each have their own personality.

 

[T L]

Nigerian is typically pretty clean. I have a flawless stone, about 3.5 carats, and I suspect it's from Nigeria. Tanzanian material is almost always included. Namibian material isn't being mined anymore, but it was typically included too.

 

[Treenbean]

Thanks so much for all the help. I will post pics if I get the stone.

 

[T L]

This chart is from the Gemval website, which is a subscription website that gives estimated values of stones based on color, clarity, shape and quality of cut. This is what they put for difference in value of a spess based only on color with all things being equal.

Valuation date: 24 Nov 2010
Value chart for Spessartite. Data valid till: 08 Dec 2010
Values in USD per carat; ref. clarity = VVS, ref. cut = Excellent

These are prices per carat based on the carat weight. I know the values are hard to read, but you can tell how they rank the colors based on the chart, so medium orangey red (third from the bottom), is the most valuable according to this site; with Medium Reddish Orange (second from the bottom) being just slightly less, followed by medium orangey yellow (bottom of chart). This is how they get the info:

"Each appraisal is based on a complex statistical analysis of current web selling prices for colored gems. The database also takes into account the factors influencing a gem's price such as weight, color, clarity, cut, shape etc. Our specialists collect statistical market data by examining hundreds of lots from different online gem sellers every day. Please be aware that the pricing model parameters (price coefficients) are updated monthly, so any estimated value will vary slightly over time.

How we collect data

We add new online shops to our tracking list every month so our list of online gemstone resources is continuously growing. We thoroughly check and categorize each online resource before we assign it to our dependency index. We make sure that only "market-balanced" offers are entered into the database. All specimens with highly irregular prices are rejected and have no impact upon statistical coefficients."

I know this is not the definitive word on value, and I have seen other websites that disagree, but I found it interesting.

I'm not really fond of gemval. I don't think it takes into consideration enough variables, and to say that the saturated orange color in that diagram is "common" is incorrect.

 

[colorluvr]

I'm not really fond of gemval. I don't think it takes into consideration enough variables, and to say that the saturated orange color in that diagram is "common" is incorrect.

Do you have a "go-to" place that you use for estimated gemstone values? Would you mind sharing?

 

[T L]

I'm not really fond of gemval. I don't think it takes into consideration enough variables, and to say that the saturated orange color in that diagram is "common" is incorrect.

Do you have a "go-to" place that you use for estimated gemstone values? Would you mind sharing?

I think after collecting for umpteenth years, I feel that I have a decent grasp on what some gems are worth, in particular ones that I highly collect. The problem with gemval is that to me, it really doesn't consider enough variables, and I feel that they are incorrect in denoting some colors as "common" as they did with the saturated orange color in the swatches above. I don't think there really is a single website that can tell you definitively what a gem is worth. If you really want to know what a particular gem is worth, try to find comprable examples of it on various vendor sites, and that would give you an idea. For example, if you want to know how much a 2 carat blue green tourmaline is that is VS or higher, and is medium light in tone, with open color, and precision cut, go research it on various sites to find them, and see what vendors are charging.

Yesterday, I was watching Gem Shopping Network and Ben Kho was selling dark brown orange "Malaya" garnets, in the four carat range for at least $1K a piece . Pricescope also gives a great consumer education as far as pricing goes since I know many vendors that wouldn't sell such material for anywhere near that price. To me, they were nothing more than ugly pyropes, but I felt that the price was way out of line, and they did not look like true Malayas either. Of course, whenever I watch Gem Shopping, I shake my head at the prices, although they are fun to watch as they make me feel better about the wonderful purchases I have made for so much less!

 

[m76steve]

im agreeing w/TL-when im serious about apprising gems-i usually do at least 2 apprs per item if not more because no one appr can know all about all stones-this is their professional opinion on how the stone is seen at the time the appr sees the stone-this is his/her opinion at the time of contact-each person has their own way of doing apprs & their opinion is the bottom line-one summary out of many-continue with life-enjoy-steve...